Books in series
#1
Damaging Secrets
2021
Damaging Secrets, the first book of her newest crime thriller series, is an engaging story of corruption and cover-up that you won’t soon forget.
New to town and a little rough around the edges, Detective Rachel Ryder finds herself on the receiving end of a suspicious person’s call in Hamby, Georgia. When the call turns out to be a dead body, the medical examiner is quick to rule the death a suicide. But was it something more sinister?
Everyone in the small department believes the case is closed—except for Rachel. The sudden passing of a local politician during the mayor’s run for Congress strikes her as a little too coincidental, and Rachel is eager to follow her instincts. Her partner, Rob, a 30-year veteran, isn’t the type to disobey his boss or ruffle any feathers, but he can’t convince strong-willed Rachel to let it go.
Obsessed with finding out the truth, Rachel begins to examine the evidence and drags her reluctant partner along for the ride. But the clues are confusing. Nothing is adding up.
Puzzled and running out of time, Rachel and Rob rush to work every angle and bring the elusive killer to justice before someone else ends up dead.
#2
Hunted Girl
2021
Fresh off the high of solving her first major investigation at her new department, Detective Rachel Ryder is about to risk losing it all.
A drug overdose case hits close to home when a body is linked to the family of Rachel's friend. But the seemingly simple investigation leads her down a rabbit hole from her past; a past she fears has finally come back to haunt her.
As bodies begin to accumulate, Detective Ryder knows in her gut that vengeance is upon her. Yet time and again the evidence just doesn't add up.
Obsessed with stopping a murderer bent on revenge, Rachel plows ahead on instinct alone. But emotions cloud her judgment, mistakes pile up, and she puts the lives of others at risk.
Increasingly isolated, Rachel begins to question her own sanity. Is she succumbing to fear? Or has Rachel's past finally caught up with her?
Bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson delivers a riveting addition to the Rachel Ryder series.
#3
Overkill
2021
With a suspected drug ring operating in the local school system, Rachel must go undercover to help bring them down.
Deputized as a Drug Enforcement Agent and working with a provisional task force, Rachel Ryder takes on her toughest case yet.
Caught between multiple agencies and working undercover from inside the local schools, Rachel lays it all on the line to protect the youth of her new community.
USA Today Bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson delivers an exciting third installment to the riveting Rachel Ryder series.
#4
Countdown
2022
When a prominent surgeon and his wife are found dead in small-town Georgia, Detective Rachel Ryder and her partner Rob Bishop are first on the scene. But while the detectives have solved many tough cases in the past, they’ve never seen anything like this one.
Because the dead woman lying at the surgeon’s side isn’t actually his wife—it’s her twin sister.
And now both the wife and her son are nowhere to be found.
As Rachel and Rob dig deeper into the case, they’re confronted with a series of dead ends and complications that threaten to derail the entire investigation. With the same face, the same DNA, and the same ambitions in life, the two women are nearly impossible to distinguish—and every clue comes with a sinister mirror image.
With the clock ticking on the missing boy and his mother, Rachel and Rob will chase every lead until they crack the case—if they can untangle the web of dark family secrets, double lives, and deadly betrayals…
#5
Body Count
2022
A serial killer is leaving numbers as his only clues...but nothing seems to add up.
From USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson.
When the fire department discovers a body near the scene of a suspicious blaze, Detective Rachel Ryder and her partner Rob Bishop are called to investigate. A set of numbers has been deliberately left near the body, and an autopsy reveals that the victim was killed before the fire.
This death was no accident.
When the investigation turns up few clues and no previous references to the killer’s calling card, Rachel and Rob turn to the media for help, eliciting contact from an unexpected source. It seems a killer from the past is back in the game...and the body count is growing.
Rachel and Bishop must solve a seemingly impossible case to stop the murders—and they don’t have much time. Because the killer is taunting them with clues about the next victim—twisting their investigation into a cruel game of cat-and-mouse.
Facing off against a cold-blooded mastermind who leaves nothing to chance, what will it take for Rachel to beat the serial killer at their own game…before another victim's number is up?
#6
Fatal Silence
2023
“One, two, three, you can’t pin on me.
Seven, eight, nine, I’ll add to my crimes.
Four, five, six, add to the mix.”
The riddle still haunts her. Months after Detective Rachel Ryder exposed the madman who killed six people, she can’t forget his sinister puzzle… and when the body of a young woman is found on an elite golf course with a familiar set of clues, Rachel can’t escape the impossible feeling that an old enemy has risen from the grave. Thrown headlong into an investigation that feels eerily similar yet strangely different, Rachel and her partner Rob Bishop fight to stop the past from repeating itself. But they’re walking straight into a dangerous game of cat and mouse―and when someone from her team goes missing, Rachel begins to realize that she’s playing right into the murderer’s plan. More innocent lives are on the line. If Rachel fails, their blood will be on her hands. Can she unearth the truth behind these seemingly copycat murders? Or is history doomed to repeat itself with devastating consequences?
#9
Dark Intent
2024
The past comes back to haunt a small town when one murder leads to the discovery of another. When troubled teenager, Ash Berman, goes missing at the summer fair in Hamby, his uncaring family fails to notice. That is, until a loose dog returns home with a bloodied hand. Investigators are led to a developing subdivision where they find the Ash's body in a shallow grave. The town is shocked by the murder, and Detectives Rachel Ryder and Rob Bishop are assigned the case to deliver justice for Ash. But upon further inspection of the crime scene, a jaw-dropping discovery is another body is found buried deeper in the same grave. The remains belong to Mike Turner, a teenager who also went missing from the summer fair almost 4 decades ago. The connection between the murders is undeniable. As Rachel and Rob race to narrow down their suspect list and inch closer to the truth, a dangerous threat emerges, putting those they love at risk. Can they expose the killer and uncover the secrets of the past…before it's too late? Prepare to be captivated by USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Apenson's newest gripping crime thriller.
Author
Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
Author · 50 books
USA Today Bestselling Author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson writes cozy mysteries, thrillers, and paranormal women's fiction featuring strong female leads. Her stories shine through her dialogue, which readers have praised for being realistic and compelling. Her first novel, Unfinished Business, was a five-star Reader's Favorite, a Rone Award finalist, and a number one bestseller on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. In 2021, she introduced readers to detective Rachel Ryder in Damaging Secrets. Overkill, the third book in the Rachel Ryder series, was one of Thrillerfix’s best thrillers of 2021.Reviews have praised her work as ‘compelling, and intense,’ and ‘read through the night, edge of your seat thrillers. Prior to publishing, she worked as a journalist in the suburbs of Atlanta where her work appeared in multiple newspapers and magazines. She wrote a monthly featured column in Northside Woman magazine. Writing is only one of Carolyn's passions. She is an avid dog lover and currently spoils two pit bull boxer mixes. She lives in the mountains of North Georgia as an empty nester with her husband, a cantankerous cat, and those two spoiled dogs. Contact Carolyn at carolyn@carolynridderaspenson.com
